News Corp. to restructure Asia broadcast business

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- News Corp. plans to restructure its Asian television broadcast business into three units, resulting in a downsizing of its Hong Kong- headquartered Star TV, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The downsizing will result in a reduction in headcount in Hong Kong by 30%, or between 150 to 200 positions over the next year, according to media reports.

As part of the changes, Star TV's CEO Paul Aiello will leave the company in December.

"The company has now reached a scale in its key local markets where we are ready to empower the teams on the ground and move a number of functions to be closer to viewers," said Star's Chairman and Chief Executive James Murdoch in a statement.

Under the plan, the English-language channels run by Star will be grouped under Fox International Channels.

"Since launching with only five channels in 1991, Star has grown in scale and made a valuable contribution to broadcasting in Asia. We are now reshaping a big, regional organization into three highly focused business units, each of which will be intensely competitive in its target marketplace," Murdoch said in the statement.

News Corp. will establish an office in Hong Kong comprising "a small group of executives from the current Star team" who will oversee the media organization's interests in the region.

Star TV is headquartered in Hong Kong and operates regional offices in India, Taiwan, China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the U.S. and U.K.

(MarketWatch, the publisher of this report, is also owned by News Corp..)

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